We broke down Trump’s supporters. We needed more baskets.
The Washington Post and ABC News
found that Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters who supported Trump in the primary could be divided into not two, but four baskets of roughly equal size based on their economic and racial anxieties:.. Only 26 percent of Trump’s supporters said that they were not struggling economically or in the lower class, but that it was a bigger problem that whites were losing out to African Americans and Hispanics than vice versa
.. Another 20 percent said they did not think it was a problem that whites were losing out, but they did put themselves in the lower class or said they were struggling economically.
.. Twenty-five percent of Trump’s supporters said both that whites were losing out and reported economic distress.
.. Finally, 24 percent said neither that they had financial problems nor that whites were losing out.
.. Republicans and independents who supported primary candidates other than Trump were much less likely to say either that they were in economic straits or that whites were losing out to other racial and ethnic groups.
.. those who think African Americans aren’t trying hard enough or are getting more than they deserve, for example — also have more negative views of the economy.